NBA CHAMPS.

Moth? Mouth? Wennington Speaks Up

The NBA Finals practice session at the Berto Center was coming to an end, and Bulls backup center Bill Wennington appeared to be finished shooting.

He started walking off the court until he saw a swarm of 30 reporters following his every step. So Wennington reversed direction, grabbed a ball and took another shot. He missed, which was understandable, since he was laughing when he put the shot up.

Moments later, to no one's surprise, he relented and started answering questions.

"What's this like, Bill?" someone asked amid the crowd.

"This has been a unique experience," he said. "It's been a lot of fun up until about 30 seconds ago. I'm a little claustrophobic. It is an impressive sight, though. I could almost feel important or something."

Wennington's role in the NBA Finals may not have been as enormous as his 7-foot frame, but the backup center still has been important. His highlight came when he sank two baskets in the final 1 1/2 minutes of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks.

Besides his penchant for hitting 12-footers with the shot clock winding down, Wennington's other key roles are that of media darling and team prankster.

Among his gags: Freezing Steve Kerr's underwear and tossing Randy Brown out of the locker room in nothing but his birthday suit.

His teammates got him back recently.

"The other day, we cleaned out his locker and filled it with kids clothing," said reserve forward Jack Haley. "So he had to come out and practice with these mini-shorts. Anything we can do to get to Bill, because you turn your back and he'll get you."

Wennington admits to being the team's top practical joker, but he insists that Kerr is the media's No. 1 sweatheart.

"We just gave Steve the `Moth of the Year' award," said Wennington, a nine-year NBA veteran who also played two seasons in Italy. "It's a media-friendly award. The camera lights go on and he flutters to them."

Not so fast, said Kerr.

"If it were left up to an impartial jury, there'd be no question," Kerr said. "In fact, I kind of held an impartial poll and it was unanimous in support of Bill. He beat me to the punch and got the trophy to me. And he's to be commended for that. But we all know who the real moth is."

Let's let Haley settle this one.

"Kerr won the media moth award, but it was presented to him by the king of media moths," Haley said. "Bill is known for waiting for the media and just hanging around for any writers."

And the writers appreciate his wit. After one practice this season, Wennington offered the following lines:

Reporter: "How did Michael Jordan look today?"

Wennington: "He looked good. He was wearing a black Nike top with black shorts and low-cut sneakers."

"How about Dennis?"

"He looked good too. He's a handsome man."

Sarcasm may not be Wennington's best friend, but it's certainly more than a long-lost cousin.

"He's the man when it comes to pranks, but that's part of being a moth, because a lot is staged for the media," Kerr said. "There have been some that haven't come out to the media, but not because Bill didn't try to get it out.

"Part of being the moth is to let everybody know what he's doing, so that's Bill."

34. BILL WENNINGTON

Position: Center.

Height/weight: 7-0/260.

Born: April 23, 1963, in Montreal.

High school: Long Island Lutheran, Brookville, N.Y.

College: St. John's.

Drafted: Selected by Dallas Mavericks in first round (16st overall) in 1985.

Acquired by Bulls: Signed as free agent on Sept. 23, 1993.

1995-96 regular season: Shot .493 from field and .860 from line in 71 games. Averaged 2.5 rpg.

1996 playoffs: In his seventh playoff appearance . . . played off the bench every game . . . Sunday in Game 3 at Seattle tied 1996 playoff-high six points (3-4 field goals) and one assist in 15 minutes . . . Career playoff-high 14 points on May 7, 1995, at Orlando . . . Averaged 2.7 ppg. and 9.3 minutes per game in Round 1 vs. Miami . . . Averaged 3.4 ppg., 2.6 rpg. and 12.8 minutes per game in the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. New York . . . Averaged 3.0 ppg. and 8.8 minutes per game in Eastern Conference finals vs. Orlando.